The Girl Who Wished For What She Could Not Have
by 17MidnightStorms
Summary: As my very first fanfic, I chose to place the OHHC characters into the story of Cinderella/Ever After. As you probably guessed, Haruhi is Cinderella and Tamaki is the Prince- but I assure you this story will (probably... hopefully :-)) not bore you! Since I am new to this, I love feedback and constructive criticism. Rated T to be safe. Sorry if the genres are a bit off. :-/
1. Chapter 1

Hey, everyone! Thanks for sopping by to read MY VERY FIRST FANFIC EVER! It's basically a Cinderella/Ever After type setting with a few character twists ;-) enjoy!

Once upon a time, if you were to walk down a quiet country road and step through a purple grove of wisteria bushes, you would stumble across an old and well-worn path. Follow it, and you would find a house that had obviously spent many days in the sun until the surrounding trees grew tall enough to shade it's walls. Inside lived a man, a woman, and their little girl. The girl's name was Haruhi because she was born on a warm spring day. What you wouldn't know, however, was that very soon, the little girl's mother would grow very ill, and eventually pass away. And you wouldn't be able to tell that her father would remarry to a wicked woman who had two daughters that hated Haruhi. Or that the little girl's father would go away from a very long time and never return. And I bet that you wouldn't guess that this is her story. It starts the day of her 9th birthday.

Haruhi stood in the window of her room, watching the road expectantly. Father would be home today, and he had a surprise for her. Suddenly, the carriage came around the bend in the road, and Haruhi could see father at the front working the team. She made haste to the door, only stopping to collect her cat Belzniff from the stairs. She dashed outside, cat in arms, and sat on the porch.  
Her father's whistling filled the gentle spring air as he drove up. He stopped the coach and cast loving eyes down at his daughter; his only remaining family. He climbed down off of the carriage and wrapped her into a tight hug. She giggled and squealed as he tickled her sides.  
"Ranka, dear." A soft voice came from the carriage, and Haruhi stopped laughing. Curiosity got the best of her, and she stood on her tiptoes to see over her kneeling father's shoulder.  
"Oh, I almost forgot your surprise." Her father winked as he stepped over to the coach and opened the door. Out stepped a woman in a lavish light-green gown. Her short brown hair blew softly in the warm breeze.  
"Haruhi," Ranka said, "This is Benio. She will be your mother. Happy birthday!"  
Haruhi tried her best to smooth her pale pink dress and stand up straight. Ranka laughed. "There's more, Haruhi." Benio stepped out of the way, and two girls emerged from the carriage. The first to emerge was a girl about Haruhi's age. She had blond waves in her hair and sported a red dress. She was taller than Haruhi, and a lot less dirty.  
"Chizuru."  
A younger girl stepped out. She only looked to be about 6, and had short, curly brown hair. Her dress matched the purple wisteria flowers on the bush that Haruhi's mother had planted in the front garden.  
"And Hinako. These are your sisters."  
Haruhi smiled and tried to look nice.  
"I have to leave." Ranka broke a long silence.  
"What?" Benio looked horrified.  
"I have business, dear. But I'll be home soon. And I will bring back to you whatever you desire."  
"Candy." Little Hinako said.  
"Pearl earrings." Chizuru requested.  
Haruhi knew it was her turn when her father looked gently down at her, and she tried to think of something fast. "A book." She decided. Her step sisters looked at her strangely. Ranka laughed. "Yes of course! And for you my dear?" He looked at Benio.  
"A necklace to go with my ring." She extended her left hand, which sported a glimmering ring. Haruhi's father smiled and kissed his bride's cheek.  
"I shall see you soon! Farewell! Happy birthday, my daughter!" He hugged Haruhi one last time, whispered that he loved her in her ear, and was gone. That was 6 years ago, and no one had seen or heard from Ranka Fujioka since.  
*****


	2. Chapter 2

Haruhi Fujioka awoke to the chill of the early morning. Her place in the attic was always cold in the mornings. The sun was just peeking out from behind the hills, and neither her step mom or step sisters were awake yet. She roused Belzniff from his sleep in front of her long-since burnt out fire. Exchanging her nightgown for a tan dress and apron, she made her way downstairs.  
From there she went about her normal morning routine of making breakfast and cleaning. It was mid-afternoon, and she was nearly finished sweeping the pathway when she heard a carriage pull up. Benio was lounging, and Haruhi's sisters were nowhere to be found, so the girl dropped her broom and ran to see who it was.  
A man in formal clothes handed Haruhi a crisp white envelope from a nearly empty sack and drove away before any questions could be asked. Upon closer examination, Haruhi saw that the envelope had the King's stamp on it.  
Hurriedly she took it to her step-mother, and told her about the coach. Benio called Chizuru and Hinako into the room, and read aloud:  
"'7 o'clock Sunday evening there shall be held a grand ball held at the palace. All young maidens in the land are to attend and present themselves to the Prince. By midnight he shall have chosen his bride.' Why, that's tomorrow!"  
By now Haruhi's step sisters were squealing and jumping around. Through the commotion, a certain sentence stuck out in Haruhi's mind.  
"Stepmother?" Her soft voice cut through the noise.  
"Yes?" Benio hardly called Haruhi by her name unless she was giving an order.  
"It said that all maidens were to attend. Wouldn't that include me?"  
Her stepmother mused. "Well, yes. I think that it would include you."  
"Mother!" Chizuru whined.  
"Thank you, stepmother!" Haruhi made to bow her head, but Benio wasn't finished.  
"But you may only go if you spend the day preparing your sisters. Then you may attend to yourself at 6 o'clock. If you can be ready by 7, and have your chores finished, you may go."  
"Thank you, stepmother!" Haruhi bowed quickly and ran to continue with her chores.  
When she was gone, Benio looked to her pouting girls. "Now, now, girls. There is no possible way that she will be able to attend. She will be too busy getting you two ready and doing her chores. And besides," she smiled coolly, "she doesn't even own a gown."

Earlier at the palace...  
"Prince Tamaki?" The prince's adviser, Kyoya, knocked on Tamaki's door late that morning.  
"Come in." Came the soft reply.  
"Sir, I've recorded the expenses for the ball tonight." The raven-haired boy walked over to where Tamaki was sitting in the window.  
"Mmm..." was his emotionless reply.  
"Sir, perhaps some entertainment would cheer you up? I could call in the Hitachiin twins."  
"I doubt it..."  
"Or maybe some cake with Hunny?"  
"I'm not hungry."  
Kyoya sighed and sat next to the Prince. "Tamaki, I've known you since we were young. But try as I might, I simply cannot determine why you are upset."  
The blond plastered an obviously fake smile on his face and looked at Kyoya. "What makes you think I'm upset?"  
He pushed up his glasses, and the prince's faux smile faded.  
"To tell you the truth, when my father presented the idea to me of a ball in honor of my marriage, I wasn't exactly thrilled. I don't want to meet a girl once before marry her." He picked up a rose from a cushion next to him and lifted it to his face "I want to marry for love."  
Kyoya didn't know how to respond. "T-Tamaki, all of the girls in the land love you. You don't need to worry about that." The blond looked at Kyoya with tears in his eyes. "But it isn't the same if I can't love her back."  
The adviser placed a gentle hand on Tamaki's shoulder.  
They stayed there for a moment, Tamaki crying silently while Kyoya kept a consoling hand on his friend's shoulder. It was Tamaki who broke the silence.  
"Let's go to the dining hall. I'm sure my father and grandmother will be expecting us for breakfast." Together they walked down the stairs without another word.

**So, what does everyone think so far? It will get exciting soon, I promise! I hope everyone found the story at least mildly interesting. All you Disney fans who caught Tamaki's line, I assure you that it was not intended for reference to Aladdin. ;-) I hope you all have a fantastic day (or night if you're like me and stay up reading till the wee small ours of the morning). God bless! **


	3. Chapter 3

5:06pm the next day at Haruhi's house  
"Haruhi! Where are you?" Chizuru yelled from the other room to Haruhi while the busy brunette tried her best to alter a large crimson dress to fit on Hinako's small form.  
"Be there in a minute, Chizuru-Kun!"  
In her haste, she accidentally pricked Hinako with the needle.  
"Ow! Clumsy..."  
Haruhi gritted her teeth and finished.  
"Done." She announced, stepping back. Hinako beamed at her slender form. "Prince Tamaki, here I come!" Rolling her eyes, Haruhi ran out of the younger girl's room and into Chizuru's bed chambers.  
The blonde girl was fiddling with her thick hair, trying to bring it into a curly up-do Haruhi set to work, and soon it was up and strung with beads to match her orange dress.  
"Tamaki will practically beg me to marry him!" She announced while smothering her lips in red gloss. When she was finished, she lowered the chest of her gown until there almost wasn't a front.  
While Chizuru made alternations to her gown, Haruhi thought of what the ball would be like. Thinking of the ball reminded he of her father and how he would speak of the balls in the far away places that he traveled Once he had gone to-  
"Haruhi! Are you even listening to me?" The brunette snapped back to reality. "Which ones?" Chizuru held up two pairs of shoes.  
"Uh... the red ones."  
"Thanks for your opinion. I'll wear the silver ones. Now leave me. Your presence is degrading my beauty." Haruhi left and checked the clock in the hall. 5:53. She checked on Hinako, who was still gazing admirably into the mirror, and then ran up the stairs to start getting ready. She was going to wear one of her mom's old dresses. It was purple like the wisteria, and fairly simple. It had sleeves, fell to her ankles and had a sash around the waist. Luckily she had found it late last night and it had fit. She would wear with it silver shoes that she remembered her mom wearing. One hour later, she came down the stairs to find her sisters and step mom ready to leave. At the sight of her, her step sisters scoffed.  
Her stepmother walked over to her with a smile. "Haruhi, how can you expect to go in that piece of trash?" Haruhi fought to keep her mouth closed and keep from gaping at Benio.  
"You're not going." The woman announced. "Most definitely not in that." She grabbed the sash at Haruhi's waist and tore it in one swift motion. She ripped the pearl necklace from Haruhi's neck and the beads fell to the floor, scattering everywhere and taking with them the little bit of hope that Haruhi had been holding on to.  
"Come, girls. Let's go."  
They left, and as Haruhi stared at the beads scattered across the floor, and the desolate purple sash lying on the cold tile, she couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

Tamaki, who was dressed in a white suit, took his place in line with his friends before the time for the ball arrived. From left to right the order went Hikaru and Kauru dressed in green and blue, Kyoya in dark purple, Tamaki, Mori in dark blue and Hunny in orange with Usa-Chan in his lap. As the guests started to arrive, all of the boys noticed that Tamaki seemed disinterested.  
The prince declined (politely) all offered food and drink, and danced half-heatedly with gushing maidens.  
Kyoya took note of this in his black notebook, and while he danced with various early-arriving girls, he wondered who in the world Tamaki would choose for his bride.  
He desperately wished that his best friend didn't have to do this. Kyoya could see past his faux smile and happy attitude. Tamaki was greatly troubled at the prospect of choosing a bride. Kyoya danced until 8 when he sat back down and drank a highly fermented glass of wine. As he watched all of the other members of the court dance, he could tell that they knew what Tamaki was feeling as well. Kyoya desperately hoped and prayed that a girl would sweep Tamaki away- and soon.

Haruhi dashed outside and sat with her sobbing form pressed against her mother's wisteria, hidden away from sight behind a veil of purple while her tears fell heavily to the ground. She sat up when something brushed her hand, and realized with a start that it was just Belzniff. She picked him up and buried her face in his soft tan fur. He leaped out of her arms and ran into the darkness. She sat back against the cool bark of the bush and wiped her eyes.  
Why had she cried? It wasn't like the Prince would have even noticed her anyway. Had she cried because the ball reminded her of life before father's disappearance? Maybe it was because she would finally have tasted freedom. Either way, she wasn't there and she wasn't going. She should just pull herself together and stop crying like a child.  
*snap*  
She directed her eyes to the noise in the darkness. She strained to see against the pitch black night. Footsteps sounded through the night. They grew closer and closer until...  
"Hello, Haruhi." A dark figure stepped into her line of vision, and pointed white teeth flashed.  
"Who are you?"  
"You know me. I have been here since the day your dad disappeared and your step mom came with the two rats she calls her daughters. I saw you grow up, suffering silently every day of your life. So tell me, Haruhi. Who am I?"  
She thought for a moment. Then, "Belzniff?..."  
He purred and laughed. "Well, yes. But for now, try Nekozowa." He laughed again, the noise ringing in the darkness.  
"Why are you here?"  
"I am here to get you ready for the ball. Go get me a fruit, an item of jewelry and two flowers. Quickly! Go!" He snapped, and Haruhi ran into the house, more than a little confused. She grabbed a plum, a diamond earring, a rose, and a wisteria flower. She dashed back to Nekozowa, who was in the same spot looking bored.  
"Here." Haruhi held out her hands to show him.  
"Put them on the ground over there." He commanded. She did as she was told and placed them in the grass. Immediately they started to change. The plum grew in size until it was a dark purple carriage with diamonds weaving around the sides. The wisteria flower turned into a driver clad in purple, and the rose turned into a red Clydesdale.  
"Not bad, not bad." Nekozowa muttered to himself. "Now about you." He looked Haruhi up and down scrutinizingly. Then he snapped his fingers. Shadows encircled Haruhi, and when they faded, she was in a dark purple ball gown with off the shoulder sleeves. Individual wisteria flowers decorated her hair, and her eyes were made soft with shadow behind a silver mask. She pulled back the bottom of her dress and saw glass shoes that sparkled like diamonds gracing her small feet. She smiled at Nekozowa, who gave an amused purr.  
"It will all go away at midnight." He informed her solemnly.  
"Okay. Thank you!" She ran forward and hugged the dark figure, who lifted her into the carriage. And she was off to the ball, waving back to her cat who sat under the wisteria bush licking his paws. As she was escorted toward the palace she could swear that there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

**Hello, all! How are you? I hope everyone is doing fantastic. How's the story so far? I hope everyone likes the story so far. It would seriously make my whole day if someone reviewed. But if not, that's okay, too. Now for the bad news: I will be going away this weekend and won't be able to update until Saturday or Sunday *gasps!*. Instead, I'll just leave you with this chapter and wish you all a fantabulistical (a word of my own invention) weekend, and God Bless!**


	4. Chapter 4

The night proceeded slowly, and eventually Tamaki gave up dancing. Two hours to midnight and all of the members of the court were back in their thrones, discussing who Tamaki should ask to take in marriage (all except for Hunny, who was asleep on Mori's lap with Usa-Chan in his arms and his head on his cousin's chest).  
Each boy gave their suggestions, but most agreed on one Chizuru. When they suggested her to Tamaki, the blond merely gave a bored glance in her direction.  
Since Tamaki was only half-heatedly listening to the conversation about his wedding plans, they discluded him altogether. In the heat of a discussion about the financial needs of the wedding, they didn't see a small brunette girl walk in, or Tamaki sit up and stare. They did notice when the Prince stood and walked past them to the mystery girl.  
They watched as he took the small girl's hand and bowed, violet eyes trained on her. She accepted, and they danced. The girl was obviously out of practice, and stumbled more than a few times. Whenever that happened, Tamaki would smile and pull the mystery girl close to himself to steady her. All of the guests looked on in wonder at the pair. Kyoya sat back in his chair and took note.  
"Wow. Who is she?" Hikaru wondered aloud.  
"I don't know. Perhaps she's from across the kingdom." Kyoya suggested. All of the boys sat in silence and watched Tamaki dance. Eventually Hunny woke up and watched with them. They all perked up when Tamaki came over with the mystery girl in arm. He smiled and offered her to each of them. Hikaru accepted first and stepped onto the floor with her as the clock chimed 11.

Hikaru placed a gentle hand on the small girl's shoulder, and the other at her waist. She smiled and followed his lead across the floor. Her gentle brown eyes were filled with surprise and curiosity. He was sure that she would make a fun new toy.  
"You look surprised, but you shouldn't be."  
"What?" She looked up at him with a wrinkled brow.  
"After all, how could the Prince resist a dance with someone like you?"  
She blushed and looked down, which caused her to misstep and fall forward. He righted her gently and the pair finished the song.  
He led her back and passed her to Kyoya. The adviser led her down the floor, and took her hand and shoulder. They waltzed and spun. She looked embarrassed, and Kyoya tried to make conversation.  
"Why so self conscious?"  
She hesitated and laughed nervously at his question. "I guess I'm just not used to this kind of thing." He took a mental note of this and once again she was led back to the 5 others. This time Mori took over.  
He didn't say anything, but was a smooth dancer and prevented Haruhi from stumbling.  
The next dance was given to Hunny. He laughed and got the brunette to crack a smile when Usa-Chan joined them. Lastly came Kauru. Delicately the ginger gripped Haruhi's shoulder and waist. The clock struck 11:30 when they began dancing; a slow, quiet waltz. Kauru admired the young maiden, and blushed when she met his eyes.  
"You are the prince's favorite, you know."  
"I can't be. I'm not rich like the other girls here..." her words trailed off and she knitted her brow in nervousness.  
"You're right. You aren't the same. You're better." He blushed and looked away from her smiling eyes. The Prince was so lucky...  
She smiled and blushed lightly. He slowed and took her back to Tamaki, gently holding her hand and savoring the time they had. The blond led her out to the rose garden. Roses of all colors surrounded them, making a gorgeous maze. They walked to a silver moonlit pond through grass sparkling with dew.  
Tamaki sat on a bench next to the water and gestured for Haruhi to come sit. She accepted and rested her head against Tamaki's shoulder. They sat for a while, until Tamaki asked a question that he had been longing to know since he first placed eyes upon her.  
"Tell me, maiden. What is your name?"  
"My name is-" the first toll of midnight sounded through the night, and Haruhi went rigid.  
"Oh no!" She stood quickly.  
"What is it?"  
"I- goodbye, senpai!" She ran into the maze, and the blond stood to run after her.  
"Wait!" He shouted. He ran deep into the maze, eventually losing any and all trace of the maiden's quiet footsteps. Long after the clock had chimed 12, he turned a corner and lying on the ground was the girl that he had danced with. This time she was wearing an old, torn dress and glass slippers. One of her shoes was lying desolate in the grass, leading  
Tamaki to believe that she had tripped and fallen in her haste.  
He cast his eyes upon her delicate form, and wondered what she would look like without the mask, which still masked her identity (but not the large bruise forming on her forehead. He gently stroked her cheek, and when she did not stir he lifted her into his arms against his chest. She was so small... he carried her back to the palace, and instructed the guard at the front entrance to carry her to one of the spare rooms. He watched the guard- he believed that his name was Ritsu- carry her up the stairs. There was a certain gentleness in the man's features when he looked at the maiden in his arms- one that Tamaki had never seen before from this strikingly harsh-appearing man. Suddenly remembering the ongoing party celebrating his marriage, he collected himself and went back inside from the cool spring air, sparing a glance behind him at the maze. The shadows seemed longer this night.

**Hey, readers! Hopefully the mild action in this chapter somewhat amused everyone. If anyone has suggestions, by all means voice them! Okay, since I can't think of anything to add to this particular note, I hope you all have a fantabulistical (yeah, that's my favorite made-up word) rest of your day/ night :-) God bless!**


	5. Chapter 5

When Haruhi awoke, the first thing that she noticed was the throbbing pain in her head. She vaguely remembered falling stumbling in the maze and blacking out. As the memories reentered her mind with a flourish, she closed her eyes and moaned from the pain in her head. She buried herself under the covers and was thankful for their warmth. Suddenly she froze. Where was she?  
Very slowly she peeked out from under the unfamiliar sheets, and as she did so, panic caused her heart to beat like that of a caged animal. She jumped out of the bed and realized that she still had her shoes on. Haruhi rushed for the door, but before she touched the knob, she heard footsteps on the other side. In a panic, Haruhi ran for the large window, fumbled momentarily with the latch, then opened it with a rush of cool spring night air. She heard the door handle turn as she straddled the window frame. She sat about ten feet from the ground.

Not thinking, Haruhi jumped, losing her shoe in the process as it caught on the windowsill and slipped from her tiny foot. When she hit the ground she cursed quietly to herself, the image of her desolate shoe sitting in the room filling her mind. As she turned to leave, thunder clapped loudly in the distance, causing fear to grip her. The moment it was over, she ran until the next clap stopped her in her tracks. In the light of the accompanying lightning, you could look closely and see tears stream down the small brunette's cheeks. But ask her, and she would swear that they were not from her irrational fear of lightning and thunder, but from the realization that she could never again have what she had experienced that night.

Tamaki had immediately confronted his friends upon returning to the ballroom. When he had told them of the previous events, they couldn't believe that the maiden had suddenly transformed into a commoner. He had assured them and offered to show them proof if they wanted to see it. They were more than happy to follow him to the room where he claimed the girl was staying. Secretly they were all scared that what he was saying might be true. What if the girl was really a commoner? If so, Tamaki's father would never approve of the marriage, let alone his grandmother.  
As a very influential duchess, any actions of her family carried over to her and indirectly influenced her reputation. Should her grandson marry a common girl her position would be a very difficult one indeed. So it would stand to reason that (with the fear of her position becoming compromised) the Duchess was the one who gave the go ahead on many of her grandson's affairs.  
All of Tamaki's friends knew of the quiet diction that the boy's grandmother laid upon him, and until previously each of them (Tamaki included) was holding onto the hope that the maiden would prove worthy in his grandmother's eyes. But if what Tamaki said was true, then there stood not a chance for the couple.  
The group of courtiers came upon the room in which the girl lay, finding Ritsu standing guard outside. He saluted them all and opened the door for them to enter. Tamaki was the first into the room, and the first to discover the empty bed and the open window. Kauru entered the large guest room next to find the prince sitting quietly on the edge of the empty bed. The ginger rushed to the window, his twin following suit. Kauru cursed quietly under his breath and fell to his knees while Hikaru placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Kyoya stood quietly near Tamaki, all at once unsure of what to say. Hunny, who sat atop Mori's shoulders, was the first to break the silence.  
"Where did she go?"  
Tamaki met the blonde's chocolate eyes with his own teary, violet ones.  
"I don't know..." he admitted quietly.  
"How could she just leave like that?" Hikaru said angrily. He glared out the window and held his fists at his sides.  
"Perhaps she left a note of some kind." Kyoya suggested. Everyone immediately followed the silent command and looked around the room for any sign that she might have left. Mori looked under the bed and a glint caught his eye. He reached out and grabbed the tiny glass slipper that sat on the floor. He stood up and alerted everyone in the room (including Ritsu, who had come in to help search as well).  
The tall boy handed the shoe to Tamaki, who drew it close to himself with gentle hands. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and spoke. "Men, this may be the only clue we have, but even so we must use it to find the maiden. I won't rest until she is safe in the palace."  
And with that, everyone present in the room vowed to find the maiden, even if it meant the displeasure of the Duchess.

**Hello, everyone! So, so sorry for the delayed update! I've been busy and it sort of kind of slipped my mind *looks around nervously* Anyway! I'm back, and even if the ending of this chapter isn't the best I've pulled, I hope you will continue reading anyway. Do you all like it so far? I hope so... If you do, great! If not, review and tell me how I messed up (be it the characters weren't imitated well or you don't like the direction this fic is going). Better yet, tell me how to fix it! Until next time, God bless!**


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